Internal negative voltage generation device

ABSTRACT

An internal negative voltage generation device includes a first internal negative voltage generation block configured to generate a first internal negative voltage which is lower than a ground voltage; a second internal negative voltage generation block configured to generate a second internal negative voltage according to the first internal negative voltage, the second internal negative voltage being higher than the first internal negative voltage and lower than the ground voltage; and an initial driving block configured to additionally drive a second internal negative voltage terminal to the first internal negative voltage during an initial set time interval of an active operation time interval.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority of Korean Patent Application No.10-2009-0124120, filed on Dec. 14, 2009, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a semiconductormemory device, and more particularly, to an internal negative voltagegeneration device of a semiconductor memory device.

In general, a semiconductor memory device includes a large number ofmemory cells as basic units, which form a matrix-shaped array. Eachmemory cell of a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), which is arepresentative semiconductor memory device, includes one NMOS transistorand one capacitor. In the memory cell of a DRAM, a loss of data storedin the memory cell occurs due to a variety of leakage factors. Theleakage factors may include off leakage which causes a data loss evenwhen a memory cell is not selected.

To prevent such a data loss caused by the leakage, a DRAM performs arefresh operation to amplify and restore data at set time intervals.

To reduce the off leakage of the memory cell, the threshold voltage of amemory cell transistor may be increased. In this case, however, a timeperiod required for storing data in the memory cell may increase.

Accordingly, a negative word line scheme has been adopted, which mayimprove a refresh characteristic without increasing a time periodrequired for storing data in a memory cell.

In the negative word line scheme, the level of a voltage supplied to aword line in a precharge state in which a word line is not selected ismaintained at a negative level lower than that of a ground voltage VSS.Therefore, it is possible to regulate the off leakage using agate-source voltage relationship without increasing the thresholdvoltage of a memory cell transistor.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional regulator-type internal negativevoltage generation device.

Referring to FIG. 1, the negative interval voltage generation device 100includes a back-bias voltage generation block 110 and a negative wordline driving voltage generation block 120. The back-bias voltagegeneration block 110 is configured to generate a back-bias voltage VBBwhich is lower than a ground voltage. The negative word line drivingvoltage generation block 120 is configured to generate a negative wordline driving voltage VBBW having a voltage level between the groundvoltage and the back-bias voltage VBB through a regulating operation.

The back-bias voltage generation block 110 includes a voltage detectionunit 112, an oscillating unit 114, and a pumping unit 116. The voltagedetection unit 112 is configured to compare a first reference voltageVR_VBB with a fed-back voltage of the back-bias voltage VBB and tooutput a detection signal DET as the comparison result. The firstreference voltage VR_VBB corresponds to a target voltage level of theback-bias voltage VBB. The oscillating unit 114 is configured togenerate and output an oscillation signal OSC at a correspondingfrequency in response to the detection signal DET outputted by thevoltage detection unit 112. The pumping unit 116 is configured toperform a pumping operation in response to the oscillation signal OSCoutputted from the oscillating unit 114 and to generate the back-biasvoltage VBB in accordance with the pumping operation. The pumping unit116 may be implemented as a negative charge pump.

The negative word line driving voltage generation block 120 includes avoltage comparison unit 122 and a driving unit 124. The voltagecomparison unit 122 is configured to compare a second reference voltageVR_VBBW and a fed-back voltage of the negative word line driving voltageVBBW, and to generate and output a driving control signal DRVcorresponding to a comparison result. The second reference voltageVR_VBBW corresponds to a target voltage level of the negative word linedriving voltage VBBW. The driving block 124 is configured to generate anegative word line driving voltage VBBW in response to the drivingcontrol signal DRV outputted by the voltage comparison unit 122. Thedriving unit 124 is implemented as an NMOS transistor coupled between aback-bias voltage (VBB) terminal and a negative word line drivingvoltage (VBBW) terminal, the NMOS transistor receiving the drivingcontrol signal DRV outputted by the voltage comparison unit 122 througha gate thereof.

The regulator-type internal negative voltage generation device 100configured in such a manner has the following problem.

The negative word line driving voltage VBBW generated by the negativeword line generation device 110 is supplied to an NMOS transistor of amemory cell through a word line driver. The word line driver and theNMOS transistor of the memory cell are not illustrated in the drawing.The negative word line driving voltage VBBW is varied by the consumptionof dynamic power when the NMOS transistor of the memory cell is turnedon/off by the word line driver. In other words, when the output signalof the word line driver changes its logic level, that is, when theoutput signal is ‘activated’, the negative word line driving voltageVBBW is changed. In this case, the changing negative word line drivingvoltage VBBW is supplied to a word line which does not change its logiclevel, that is, which is ‘deactivated’. As a result, the datamaintenance ability of the corresponding memory cell is degraded.

Furthermore, a plurality of comparators and a plurality of drivers maybe distributed and arranged to generate a stable negative word linedriving voltage VBBW. Since the plurality of comparators may havedifferent characteristics, this may also act as a factor which causesvariations in the negative word line driving voltage VBBW.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention is directed to an internalnegative voltage generation device to constantly maintain an internalnegative voltage supplied to a word line to improve a data maintenanceability of a memory cell.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, an internalnegative voltage generation device includes: a first internal negativevoltage generation block configured to generate a first internalnegative voltage lower than a ground voltage; a second internal negativevoltage generation block configured to generate a second internalnegative voltage according to the first internal negative voltage, thesecond internal negative voltage being higher than the first internalnegative voltage and lower than the ground voltage; and an initialdriving block configured to additionally drive a second internalnegative voltage terminal to the first internal negative voltage duringan initial set time interval of an active operation time interval.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, aninternal negative voltage generation device includes: a first internalnegative voltage generation block configured to generate a firstinternal negative voltage lower than a ground voltage; a second internalnegative voltage generation block configured to generate a secondinternal negative voltage according to the first internal negativevoltage, the second internal negative voltage being higher than thefirst internal negative voltage and lower than the ground voltage; andan initial driving block configured to detect a level of the secondinternal negative voltage at an initial stage of an active operationtime interval, and to additionally drive a second internal negativevoltage terminal to the first internal negative voltage during a timeinterval corresponding to a detection result.

In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, aninternal negative voltage generation device includes: a first internalnegative voltage generation block configured to generate a firstinternal negative voltage lower than a ground voltage; a second internalnegative voltage generation block configured to generate a secondinternal negative voltage according to the first internal negativevoltage, the second internal negative voltage being higher than thefirst internal negative voltage and lower than the ground voltage; andan initial driving block configured to additionally drive a secondinternal negative voltage terminal to the first internal negativevoltage during a first initial set time interval of a word line enabletime interval and during a second initial set time interval of a wordline disable time interval.

In accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, aninternal negative voltage generation device includes: a internalnegative voltage generation block configured to use a first internalnegative voltage lower than a ground voltage to generate a secondinternal negative voltage based on the ground voltage, the secondinternal negative voltage having a level higher than the first negativevoltage and lower than the ground voltage; and an auxiliary drivingblock configured to additionally drive a second internal negativevoltage terminal to the first internal negative voltage in response toan active signal during a set time interval.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional internal negative voltagegeneration device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an internal negative voltage generationdevice in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an internal circuit diagram of an operation control unit ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a timing diagram illustrating an operation of the internalnegative voltage generation device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an internal circuit diagram of an operation control unit of aninternal negative voltage generation device in accordance with a secondembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a timing diagram explaining an operation of a voltagedetection section of FIG. 5.

FIG. 6B is a timing diagram explaining an operation of the internalnegative voltage generation device of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an internal circuit diagram of an operation control unit of aninternal negative voltage generation device in accordance with a thirdembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a timing diagram explaining an operation of the internalnegative voltage generation device in accordance with the thirdembodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described below inmore detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The presentinvention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not beconstrued as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather,these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thoroughand complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present inventionto those skilled in the art. Throughout the disclosure, like referencenumerals refer to like parts throughout the various figures andembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an internal negative voltage generationdevice in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the internal negative voltage generation device 200includes a back-bias voltage generation block 210, a negative word linedriving voltage generation block 220, and an initial driving block 230.The back-bias voltage generation block 210 is configured to generate aback-bias voltage VBB which is lower than a ground voltage. The negativeword line driving voltage generation block 220 is configured to generatea negative word line driving voltage VBBW having a voltage level betweenthe ground voltage and the back-bias voltage VBB, according to theback-bias voltage VBB generated by the back-bias generation block 210.The initial driving block 230 is configured to additionally drive anegative word line driving voltage (VBBW) terminal to the back-biasvoltage VBB during an initial set time interval of an active operationtime interval. The initial set time interval of the active operationtime interval refers to an initial set time interval during which a wordline is enabled.

The back-bias voltage generation block 210 includes a voltage detectionunit 212, an oscillating unit 214, and a pumping unit 216. The voltagedetection unit 212 is configured to compare a first reference voltageVR_VBB with the fed-back back-bias voltage VBB and to generate acomparison result as a detection signal DET. The first reference voltageVR_VBB corresponds to a target voltage level of the back-bias voltageVBB. The oscillating unit 214 is configured to generate and output anoscillation signal OSC at a corresponding frequency in response to thedetection signal DET outputted by the voltage detection unit 212. Thepumping unit 216 is configured to perform a pumping operation inresponse to the oscillation signal outputted by the oscillating unit214, and to generate a back-bias voltage VBB in accordance with thepumping operation. The pumping unit 216 is implemented as a negativecharge pump.

The negative word line driving voltage generation block 220 includes avoltage comparison unit 222 and a first driving unit 224. The voltagecomparison unit 222 is configured to compare a second reference voltageVR_VBBW with the fed-back voltage of the negative word line drivingvoltage VBBW, and to generate and output a driving control signal DRVcorresponding to a comparison result. The second reference voltageVR_VBBW corresponds to a target voltage level of the negative word linedriving voltage VBBW. The first driving unit 224 is configured togenerate the negative word line driving voltage VBBW in response to thedriving control signal DRV outputted by the voltage comparison unit 222.The first driving unit 224 is implemented as an NMOS transistor coupledbetween a back-bias voltage (VBB) terminal and the negative word linedriving voltage (VBBW) terminal, the NMOS transistor receiving thedriving control signal DRV outputted by the voltage comparison unit 222through a gate thereof.

The initial driving block 230 includes an operation control unit 240 anda second driving unit 250. The first operation control unit 240 isconfigured to receive an active initial operation signal, that is, aword line enable signal EN to output an operation control pulse signalDRVONP during a set time interval. The word line enable signal EN is asignal which is output when the corresponding word line is enabled. Theword line enable signal EN is output in response to an active command, aprecharge command, an auto refresh command, or the like. The seconddriving unit 250 is configured to drive the negative word line driving(VBBW) terminal to the back-bias voltage VBB during a set time intervalin response to the operation control pulse signal DRVONP output by theoperation control unit 240. The second driving unit 250 is implementedas an NMOS transistor coupled between the back-bias voltage (VBB)terminal and the negative word line driving voltage (VBBW) terminal, theNMOS transistor receiving the outputted operation control pulse signalDRVONP through a gate thereof.

FIG. 3 is an internal circuit diagram of the operation control unit 240.

Referring to FIG. 3, the operation control unit 240 includes anoperation interval setting section 242 and a signal conversion section244. The operation interval setting section 242 is configured to outputan enable pulse signal ENP corresponding to a time interval in which thesecond driving unit 250 operates in response to the word line enablesignal EN. The signal conversion section 244 is configured to convertthe enable pulse signal ENP outputted by the operation interval settingsection 242 into the operation control pulse signal DRVONP having avoltage level for operating the second driving section 250.

The operation interval setting section 242 includes a delay unit 242Aconfigured to delay the outputted word line enable signal EN. Althoughnot shown in detail, a propagation delay circuit in which a logic gate,a resistor, and a capacitor are combined to transfer a signal may beused as the delay unit 242A. A delay time interval may be set through atest mode or fuse programming.

The signal conversion section 244 includes a voltage level shifter 244Aand a buffer 244B. The voltage level shifter 244A is configured to shiftthe voltage level of the enable pulse signal ENP outputted by theoperation interval setting section 242. The buffer 244B is configured tobuffer an output signal of the voltage level shifter 244A. The voltagelevel shifter 244A and the buffer 244B are configured to output theoperation control pulse signal DRVONP to have the same voltage level asthe back-bias voltage VBB when the second driving unit 250 is turned offin response to the operation control pulse signal DRVONP, and to have asource voltage level V2 for a pull-up operation when the second drivingunit 250 is turned on in response to the operation control pulse signalDRVONP.

Hereafter, an operation of the internal negative voltage generationdevice in accordance with the first embodiment of the present inventionis described in detail with reference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a timing diagram illustrating an operation of the internalnegative voltage generation device of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 4, the internal negative voltage generation device 200generates a negative word line driving voltage VBBW through theback-bias voltage generation block 220 and the negative word linedriving voltage generation block 230, and supplies the generatednegative word line driving voltage VBBW to a word line driver which isnot illustrated in the drawings.

The word line driver supplies the negative word lines driving voltageVBBW output by the internal negative voltage generation device 200 to aword line when the word line is disabled, in order to maintain datastored in the corresponding memory cell.

When data is read from or written into the corresponding memory cell,the corresponding word line is enabled. The corresponding word linedriver changes the level of the negative word line driving voltage VBBWto the level of a high potential voltage VPP, and outputs the changednegative word line driving voltage VBBW to the word line.

At this time, the word line enable signal EN is output. The initialdriving block 230 of the internal negative voltage generation device 200additionally operates in response to the outputted word line enablesignal EN.

Specifically, the operation time interval setting section 242 of theoperation control unit 240 generates and outputs an enable pulse signalENP corresponding to a set time interval, that is, a time interval inwhich the second driving unit 250 operates. At this time, the enablepulse signal ENP has a voltage level ‘V1’.

Then, the voltage level shifter 244A shifts the voltage level of theenable pulse signal ENP outputted by the operation time interval settingsection 242, and the buffer 244B buffers the output signal shifted bythe voltage level shifter 244A to output an operation control pulsesignal DRVONP having a source voltage level V2 for turning on the seconddriving unit 250.

In response to the supplied operation control pulse signal DRVONP, thesecond driving unit 250 is operated to supply a stable negative wordline driving voltage VBBW to the word line driver during an initialactivation time interval TD of the word line.

An internal negative voltage generation device in accordance with asecond embodiment of the present invention is described as follows.

In the internal negative voltage generation device in accordance withthe second embodiment of the present invention, a voltage detectionsection is additionally provided to detect a variation of the negativeword line driving voltage VBBW, as compared with the first embodiment ofthe present invention. Therefore, the operation interval of the initialdriving block may be more finely controlled. In the second embodiment ofthe present invention, only the operation control unit of the initialdriving block has a different configuration from that of the firstembodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, the followingdescriptions will be focused on the operation control unit. Furthermore,like reference numerals denote the same components as those of the firstembodiment, and different reference numerals denote different componentsfrom those of the first embodiment. For convenience of explanation, thedescriptions of the same components as those of the first embodimenthave been omitted.

FIG. 5 is an internal circuit diagram of the operation control unit ofthe internal negative voltage generation device in accordance with thesecond embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the operation control unit 340 includes a voltagedetection section 346 configured to detect whether or not the voltagelevel of the negative word line driving voltage VBBW has changed. Thevoltage detection section 346 is implemented as a comparator 346Aconfigured to compare a third reference voltage VR_VBBW1 with a fed-backvoltage VFEED of the negative word line driving voltage VBBW and tooutput a comparison result as a detection signal DRVOFFB. A noninvertingterminal (+) of the comparator 346A receives the third reference voltageVR_VBBW1, and an inverting terminal (−) thereof receives the feedbackvoltage VFEED having a voltage level between a set time interval voltageVINT and the word line driving voltage VBBW. The third reference voltageVR_VBBW1 corresponds to a target voltage level of the feedback voltageVFEED. That is, the relationship between the third reference voltageVR_VBBW1 and the feedback voltage VFEED may be expressed as Equations 1and 2 below.

$\begin{matrix}{{VFEED} = {VR\_ VBBW1}} & {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 1} \\{\frac{{VINT} - {VBBW}}{{R\; 1} + {R\; 2}} = \frac{{VINT} - {VFEED}}{R\; 1}} & {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 2}\end{matrix}$

The third reference voltage VR_VBBW1 and the feedback voltage VFEED maybe set in various manners, if necessary.

The operation control unit 340 further includes a logic operationsection 348 configured to logically operate upon the detection signalDRVOFFB output by the voltage detection section 346 and an output signalENPRE output by the operation interval setting section 242, and togenerate and output an enable pulse signal ENP. The logic operationsection 348 is implemented as an AND gate.

Hereafter, an operation of the internal negative voltage generationdevice in accordance with the second embodiment of the present inventionis described in detail.

FIG. 6A is a timing diagram explaining an operation of the voltagedetection section of FIG. 5, and FIG. 6B is a timing diagram explainingan operation of the internal negative voltage generation device inaccordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6A, when a change in the voltage level of the negativeword line driving voltage VBBW occurs, the feedback voltage VFEED alsochanges. Then, the voltage detection section 346 detects the changes. Asa detection result, when the feedback voltage VFEED is greater than orequal to the third reference voltage VR_VBBW1, the voltage detectionsection 346 outputs the detection signal DRVOFFB.

Based on the outputted detection signal DRVOFFB of the voltage detectionsection 346, an operation in which a second internal negative voltage isconstantly maintained is described as follows.

Referring to FIG. 6B, the negative word line driving voltage VBBW issupplied to a word line through a word line driver when the word line isdisabled, in order to maintain data stored in the corresponding memorycell.

When data is read from or written into the corresponding memory cell,the corresponding word line is enabled. That is, the corresponding wordline driver changes the level of the negative word line driving voltageVBBW to the level of a high potential voltage VPP, and supplies thechanged negative word line driving voltage VBBW to the word line.

At this time, the word line enable signal EN is output. The initialdriving block 230 is operated in response to the outputted word lineenable signal EN.

Specifically, the operation interval setting section 242 generates andoutputs a pulse signal ENPRE corresponding to a set time interval, thatis, a set time interval in which the second driving unit 250 operates.The voltage detection section 346 receives the fed-back negative wordline driving voltage VBBW to detect whether or not the voltage level ofthe negative word line driving voltage VBBW has changed, and activatesthe detection signal DRVOFFB depending on the detection result (refer toFIG. 6A).

Then, the logic operation section 348 receives the pulse signal ENPRE ofthe operation setting section 242 and the detection signal DRVOFFB ofthe voltage detection section 346 and logically multiplies the signalsand outputs an enable pulse signal ENP. That is, the enable pulse signalENP is output in response to the detection signal DRVOFFB.

The voltage level shifter 244A shifts the voltage level of the enablepulse signal ENP outputted by the logic operation section 348, and thebuffer 244B buffers the output signal shifted by the voltage levelshifter 244A to output an operation control pulse signal DRVONP having asource voltage level V2 for turning on the second driving unit 250.

Accordingly, the second driving unit 250 is operated in response to thesupplied operation control pulse signal DRVONP. Since the operation timeinterval of the second driving unit 250 is determined on the basis ofthe voltage level of the negative word line driving voltage VBBW, theoperation time interval of the second driving unit 250 may be controlledmore minutely.

Hereafter, an operation of an internal negative voltage generationdevice in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention isdescribed.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, the initial drivingblock may be additionally operated even when the word line is disabledas well as when the word line is enabled, as compared with the firstembodiment of the present invention. Therefore, the followingdescriptions are focused on the operation control unit of the initialdriving block which has a different configuration from that of the firstembodiment, as in the second embodiment of the present invention.Furthermore, like reference numerals denote the same components as thoseof the first embodiment of the present invention, and differentreference numerals denote different components from those of the firstembodiment of the present invention. For convenience of explanation, thedescriptions of the same components as those of the first embodimenthave been omitted.

FIG. 7 is an internal circuit diagram of the operation control unit ofthe internal negative voltage generation device in accordance with thethird embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the operation control unit 730 includes first andsecond operation interval setting sections 242 and 746 configured to setan operation time interval of the second driving unit 250 in response toa word line enable/disable signal ACTEN.

As described above with regard to the first embodiment, the firstoperation time interval setting section 242 outputs a first pulse signalENP0 for setting the operation time interval of the second driving unit250, when the word line is enabled, that is, when the word lineenable/disable signal ACTEN changes from a low level to a high level.The first operation time interval setting section 242 includes the firstdelay unit 242A configured to delay the supplied word lineenable/disable signal ACTEN.

The second operation interval setting section 746 outputs a second pulsesignal ENP1 for setting the operation time interval of the seconddriving unit 250, when the word line is disabled, that is, when the wordline enable/disable signal ACTEN changes from a high level to a lowlevel. The second operation time interval setting section 746 includes asecond delay unit 746A. A propagation delay circuit in which a logicgate, a resistor, and a capacitor are combined to transfer a signal maybe used as the second delay 746A. A delay time interval may be setthrough a test mode or fuse programming.

The operation control unit 730 further includes a logic operationsection 748 configured to logically operate upon the first and secondpulse signals ENP0 and ENP1 of the first and second operation timeinterval setting sections 242 and 746 to generate and output an enablepulse signal ENP. The logic operation section 748 may be implemented asan OR gate.

Hereafter, an operation of the internal negative voltage generationdevice in accordance with the third embodiment of the present inventionis described in detail.

FIG. 8 is a timing diagram explaining the operation of the internalnegative voltage generation device in accordance with the thirdembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the negative word line driving voltage VBBW isoutputted to a word line through the word line driver. Accordingly, datastored in the corresponding memory cell is maintained.

When data is read from or written into the corresponding memory cell,the corresponding word line is enabled. That is, the corresponding wordline driver changes the level of the negative word line driving voltageVBBW to the level of a high potential voltage VPP, and then outputs thechanged negative word line driving voltage VBBW to the word line.

At this time, the word line enable/disable signal ACTEN is output. Theoperation control unit 730 is operated in response to the outputted wordline enable/disable signal ACTEN. That is, the first operation timeinterval setting section 242 outputs the first pulse signal ENP0corresponding to a set time interval, that is, a time interval TD0 inwhich the second driving unit 250 operates. On the other hand, theoutput signal ENP1 of the second operation time interval setting section746 is not output.

Then, the logic operation section 748 receives the output signals ENP0and ENP1 of the first and second operation interval setting section 242and logically sums the output signals ENP0 and ENP1 and outputs theenable pulse signal ENP.

The voltage level shifter 244A shifts the voltage level of the enablepulse signal ENP outputted from the logic operation section 748. Thebuffer 244B buffers the output signal shifted by the voltage levelshifter 244A to output an operation control pulse signal DRVONP having asource voltage level V2 for turning on the second driving unit 250.

Accordingly, the second driving unit 250 is operated in response to theoutputted operation control pulse signal DRVONP, and stably supplies thenegative word line driving voltage VBBW to the word line driver duringthe initial enable time interval of the word line.

Then, when the word line enable/disable signal ACTEN is not output, theoutput signal ENP0 of the first operation time interval setting section242 maintains a low logic level. Only the second operation time intervalsetting section 746 outputs the second pulse signal ENP1 correspondingto a set time interval, that is, a time interval TD1 in which the seconddriving unit 250 operates.

The logic operation section 748 receives the output signals ENP0 andENP1 of the first and second operation time interval setting section 242and logically sums the output signals ENP0 and ENP1 and outputs anenable pulse signal ENP.

The voltage level shifter 244A shifts the voltage level of the enablepulse signal ENP outputted from the logic operation section 748. Thebuffer 244B buffers the output signal shifted by the voltage levelshifter 244A to output an operation control pulse signal DRVONP having asource voltage level V2 for turning on the second driving unit 250.

Accordingly, the second driving unit 250 is operated in response to thesupplied operation control pulse signal DRVONP, and stably supplies thenegative word line driving voltage VBBW to the word line driver duringthe initial time disable interval of the word line.

In accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, thevariations of the negative word line driving voltage VBBW, which occurdue to the consumption of dynamic power when the word line is enabled ordisabled, are minimized/reduced. Therefore, the data maintenance abilityof the memory cell is improved.

In accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, theinternal negative voltage generation device may additionally drive thenegative word line driving voltage (VBBW) terminal to the back-biasvoltage during a set time interval, when the level of the negative wordline driving voltage changes. Therefore, the variations of the negativeword line driving voltage, which occur due to the consumption of dynamicpower at the initial stage of the active operation time interval, areminimized to suppress an off leakage current of a memory cell.Therefore, the data maintenance ability of the memory cell is improved.

While the present invention has been described with respect to thespecific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that various changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention as definedby the following claims.

1. An internal negative voltage generation device, comprising: a firstinternal negative voltage generation block configured to generate afirst internal negative voltage at a first internal negative voltageterminal, the first internal negative voltage being lower than a groundvoltage; a second internal negative voltage generation block configuredto generate a second internal negative voltage according to the firstinternal negative voltage, the second internal negative voltage beinghigher than the first internal negative voltage and lower than theground voltage; and an initial driving block configured to additionallydrive a second internal negative voltage terminal to the first internalnegative voltage during an initial set time interval of an activeoperation time interval, wherein the initial driving block comprises: adriving unit configured to drive the second internal negative voltageterminal to the first internal negative voltage in response to anoperation control pulse signal; and an operation control unit configuredto set a time interval of operation of the driving unit in response to aword line enable signal and to output the operation control pulse signalcorresponding to the time interval, wherein the operation control unitcomprises: an operation time interval setting section configured to setthe time interval of the operation of the driving unit and to output apulse signal corresponding to the time interval; and a signal levelconversion section configured to convert the pulse signal from theoperation time interval setting section into a signal level for thedriving unit and to output the operation control pulse signal.
 2. Theinternal negative voltage generation device of claim 1, wherein thedriving unit comprises an NMOS transistor coupled between the firstinternal negative voltage terminal and the second internal negativevoltage terminal, and wherein the NMOS transistor receives the operationcontrol pulse signal from the operation control unit through a gatethereof.
 3. The internal negative voltage generation device of claim 1,wherein the first internal negative voltage comprises a back-biasvoltage, and wherein the second internal negative voltage comprises anegative word line driving voltage.
 4. An internal negative voltagegeneration device, comprising: a first internal negative voltagegeneration block configured to generate a first internal negativevoltage, the first internal negative voltage being lower than a groundvoltage; a second internal negative voltage generation block configuredto generate a second internal negative voltage according to the firstinternal negative voltage, the second internal negative voltage beinghigher than the first internal negative voltage and lower than theground voltage; and an initial driving block configured to detect alevel of the second internal negative voltage at an initial stage of anactive operation time interval, and to additionally drive a secondinternal negative voltage terminal to the first internal negativevoltage during a time interval corresponding to a detection result. 5.The internal negative voltage generation device of claim 4, wherein theinitial driving block comprises: an operation control unit configured togenerate an operation control pulse signal activated during the timeinterval in response to a word line enable signal; and a driving unitconfigured to drive the second internal negative voltage terminal to thefirst internal negative voltage in response to the operation controlpulse signal.
 6. The internal negative voltage generation device ofclaim 5, wherein the operation control unit comprises: an operationinterval setting section configured to set a time interval of operationof the driving unit and to output a first pulse signal corresponding tothe time interval; a voltage detection section configured to detect avariation of the second internal negative voltage from the secondinternal negative voltage generation block and to output a second pulsesignal corresponding to a detection result; and a signal levelconversion section configured to convert an output signal of a logicoperation section into a signal level for operating the driving unit andto output the operation control pulse signal.
 7. The internal negativevoltage generation device of claim 6, further comprising: the logicoperation section configured to logically operate upon the first pulsesignal of the operation interval setting section and the second pulsesignal of the voltage detection section.
 8. The internal negativevoltage generation device of claim 6, wherein the voltage detectionsection comprises: a feedback voltage generator configured to convertthe second internal negative voltage into a feedback voltage having aset voltage level; and a comparator configured to compare the feedbackvoltage outputted from the feedback voltage generator with a referencevoltage corresponding to a target voltage level of the feedback voltage.9. The internal negative voltage generation device of claim 5, whereinthe driving unit comprises an NMOS transistor coupled between a firstinternal negative voltage terminal and the second negative intervalvoltage terminal, the NMOS transistor receiving the operation controlpulse signal from the operation control unit through a gate thereof. 10.The internal negative voltage generation device of claim 4, wherein thefirst internal negative voltage comprises a back-bias voltage, andwherein the second internal negative voltage comprises a negative wordline driving voltage.
 11. An internal negative voltage generationdevice, comprising: a first internal negative voltage generation blockconfigured to generate a first internal negative voltage at a firstinternal negative voltage terminal, the first internal negative voltagebeing lower than a ground voltage; a second internal negative voltagegeneration block configured to generate a second internal negativevoltage according to the first internal negative voltage, the secondinternal negative voltage being higher than the first internal negativevoltage and lower than the ground voltage; and an initial driving blockconfigured to additionally drive a second internal negative voltageterminal to the first internal negative voltage during an initial settime interval of a word line enable time interval and during an initialset time interval of a word line disable time interval, wherein theinitial driving block comprises: a driving unit configured to drive thesecond internal negative voltage terminal to the first internal negativevoltage in response to an operation control pulse signal; and anoperation control unit configured to set a time interval of operation ofthe driving unit in response to either a word line enable signal or aword line disable signal and to output the operation control pulsesignal corresponding to the time interval, wherein the operation controlunit comprises: a first operation time interval setting sectionconfigured to receive the word line enable signal and to output a firstpulse signal during a first time interval; a second operation intervalsetting section configured to receive the word line disable signal andto output a second pulse signal during a second time interval; and asignal level conversion section configured to convert an output signalof a logic operation section into a signal level for operating thedriving unit and to output the operation control pulse signal.
 12. Theinternal negative voltage generation device of claim 11, furthercomprising: the logic operation section configured to logically operateupon the first and second pulse signals.
 13. The internal negativevoltage generation device of claim 11, wherein the driving unitcomprises an NMOS transistor coupled between a first internal negativevoltage terminal and the second internal negative voltage terminal, theNMOS transistor receiving the operation control pulse signal from theoperation control unit through a gate thereof.
 14. The internal negativevoltage generation device of claim 11, wherein the first internalnegative voltage comprises a back-bias voltage, and the second internalnegative voltage comprises a negative word line driving voltage.
 15. Aninternal negative voltage generation device, comprising: an internalnegative voltage generation block configured to use a first internalnegative voltage lower than a ground voltage to generate a secondinternal negative voltage based on the ground voltage, the secondinternal negative voltage having a level higher than the first negativevoltage and lower than the ground voltage; and an auxiliary drivingblock configured to detect a level of the second internal negativevoltage at an initial stage of an active operation time interval and toadditionally drive a second internal negative voltage terminal to thefirst internal negative voltage in response to an active signal during aset time interval corresponding to a result of the detection.
 16. Theinternal negative voltage generation device of claim 15, wherein theactive signal comprises a signal output in response to one of an activecommand, a precharge command, and an auto refresh command.